Business students at Fresno State will get a taste of Wall Street in the fall when the Craig School of Business is set to open a stock trading room for students and faculty. Funded by a $45,000 gift from Wells Fargo, the trading room will be one of only four stock training labs in California.

“This trading room will provide a showcase for the Craig School, where students can gather to research investment opportunities as an integral part of their educational experience,” said Dr. Robert Harper, dean of the Craig School of Business. “The software licensed for use in the trading room will be used by faculty and a multitude of students to gather real-time investment data.”

Located in the Leon S. Peters Business Building on campus, this facility will feature at least four work stations and an LED stock ticker streaming the latest stock quotes and news headlines.

The trading room will be used primarily by the Student Managed Investment Fund program, offered through the Department of Finance and Business Law. Students in the program manage a $2.7 million endowment for the Fresno State Foundation, giving them real-life experience in investment, securities analysis and portfolio management.

Construction of the facility will take place over the summer. It is expected to be open to students at the start of the 2014-15 academic year.

Wells Fargo Central Valley Market President Sandy Raco said the skills students acquire in the trading room will help them be more competitive in the job market.

“More than a classroom, the trading room will give students the opportunity to have real-time, hands-on experiences in the financial services industry,” Raco said. “It’s a perfect partnership which Wells Fargo is happy to support and be part of.”

Harper is looking forward to the prestige this trading room will bring to the Craig School. “We are grateful to Wells Fargo for providing our students this opportunity and for allowing the school to present this showcase to our community.”

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Wells Fargo: www.wellsfargo.com